military has deployed a secret task force to jordan to help respond to the ongoing violence in syria. "the new york times" reports a contingent of more than 150 planners and other specialists is tasked with helping jordanian forces handle incoming syrian refugees, prepare for syria's potential loss of control over its chemical weapons, and respond should the turmoil in syria spread more widely throughout the middle east. the mission also reportedly has discussed contingency plans to insulate jordan from the conflict, with talks of a u.s.- backed buffer zone along the syria-toward a murdeborder. the u.s. military presence in jordan comes just as the jordanian monarchy is facing its largest protests since the start of the arab spring. thousands of jordanians marched in the capital demanding economic opportunities and democratic reforms. turkey forced a syrian passenger airplane to land in and confiscated its cargo is tensions between the two countries continue to rise. the airplane was traveling from moscow to the syrian city of damascus, and there were unconfirmed reports military supp